Strawberry Delight

     I first had this dessert at a Beta meeting years ago and thought it was yummy. Light cool, crunchy and filled with summertime strawberries, or it can even be made with frozen fruit. Raspberries can also be substituted if you’d prefer.

     Two warnings: 1) The filling has to be beaten with an electric mixer for up to 20 minutes, and then cream has to be whipped after that. So, a hand mixer just doesn’t cut it. Or, just use your hand mixer, burn out the motor and then you have a perfectly good excuse to buy a counterop stand mixer. 2) As I said, this recipe has been around for a long time—before everyone was worried about consuming raw eggs. So if that bothers you or if you are serving this to guests, I suggest you use pasteurized eggs.

Strawberry Delight  -- Yield: 9” springform pan or pie pan / cut 8 - 10  pieces or 9”x13” baking dish

Crust:

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients; put on jelly roll pan.  Stir now and then while baking for 15 minutes @ 359°

1.  Blend butter, flour and brown sugar. Add pecans. Mix until crumbly.

2.  Put mixture on a cookie sheet.

3.  Bake at 350º for 15 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Cool slightly. Press1/3 to 1/2 of mixture in bottom of springform (pie pan or baking dish); reserve rest for topping.

The crust can be made ahead.

Filling:

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries or 1 lb. frozen strawberries, thawed or partially (preferably without added sugar or if sugar has been added, cut down sugar listed below) or use raspberries

(Optional—save a strawberry or two to slice for a garnish &/or make a strawberry fan)

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is preferable)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 pint (1 cup) whipping cream

1.  Combine all ingredients, except cream, in mixing bowl and beat 20 minutes -- low at first, then high. Use a large bowl as the volume increases dramatically as it is beaten. In addition to being very fluffy, it will also turn pink in color. Hint: If your mixing bowl is thoroughly chilled, you may be able to achieve the desired results in less time (maybe even 10 to 15 minutes).

2.  Whip cream and fold into above mixture.

3.  Spread filling evenly over the top of crust; sprinkle with reserved topping.

4.  Freeze without covering. As soon as filling is hard, cover with freezer-proof wrap.

5.  Allow to partially thaw before serving.

6.  Garnish, if desired, with strawberry slices or strawberry fans.